Means for connecting trolley and feed wires



(No Model.)

J. R. FLETCHER.

MEANS FOR CONNECTING TROLLEY- AND FEED WIRES.

No. 454,903. Patented June 30, 1891.

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a/f C/ NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN R. FLETCHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR CONNECTING TROLLEY AND FEED WIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 454,903, dated June 30,1891. Application filed September 30, 1890. Serial No. 366,690. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN R. FLETCHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi-' nois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means for ConnectingFeeder and Trolley Wires in Electric-Railway Systems, of which thefollowing is a full and clear specification.

Myinvention relates to feeder-wire connectors for use inelectric-railway systems and designed especially to provide means forperfectly connecting the feed wire or conductor over which the currentis supplied to the trolley-wire, and has for its object to provideconvenient and simple means therefor.

In my invention, Figure 1 is a plan View of a section of an electricrailway. Fig. 2 is a detail of the connector proper.

Like parts are indicated by the same letters in both figures.

A is the feeder-wire, suitably supported on the poles B B.

C is the trolley-wire.

D D are the opposite poles.

E E are the supporting-wires connected from pole to pole; F F, thetrolley-wire insulators by which the trolley-wire is connected so as tobe supported from the supportingwires and at the same time be insulatedtherefrom.

G is a short conductor electrically connected with the wire A at thepoint H. This connection may be made by scraping the insulation off thewire A and making a joint at H and afterward covering the joint. Thiswire G is connected, for example, by .means of the set-screw J. with theconnector-shank K, from which proceeds the curved arm L, on the outerextremity of which is secured, preferably by a screw connection, adepending trolley-contactor M, into which is received the trolley-wireN, being permanently secured in the lower grooved portion of the part Mby the solder 0. Any other desired connection can be made between thecurved portion L and the contactor M, as may be desired, and the jointmay be made loose so as to permit the two parts to occupy a differentposition with reference to each other, as may be thought proper.

The use and operation of this device are as 'of copper, and the leastpossible .quantity is of course employed. Moreover, it is also desirableto avoid difficultjoints and the making of conductor-lines of differentmaterials. In my apparatus the current is permanently supplied by thefeeder-wire and the trolley-wire sometimes composed ofsections, and toeach section a short conductor G of the same material as the feeder-wireA leads. between the two is made conveniently, as at H, and the jointmay be again thoroughly insulated and the length of the conductor G maybe adjustably varied so as to accommodate itself to the distance betweenthe trolley and feed wire at the point at which it is applied by meansof the set-screw J. The arm L then rises up so as to be out of the Wayof the'trolley, and a simple and convenient contact is made in the usualmanner between this arm and the trolley-wire by the contactor M.

The device is equally applicable whether the trolley-wire is composedofsections or not.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is as follows:

1. In an electric-railway system, the com bination of atrolley-wiresuitably supported and insulated from its supports, with afeedwire also supported and insulated, and a connector from thefeed-wire to the trolley-wire, consisting of a short conductorin contactwith the feed-wire, a curved piece connected with such short wire, and adownwardly-depending contactor from such curved piece to thetrolley-wire.

2. In an electric-railway system, the combination of a trolley-wiresuitably supported and insulated from its supports, with a feedwire alsosupported and insulated, andacon ductor from the feed-wire to thetrolley-wire, consisting of a short conductor in contact with thefeed-wire, a curved piece connected with such feed-wire, and adownwardly-dependi-ng The contact 10 feed-wire, a curved piece connectedwith such feed-wire, a downwardly-depending contactor from such curvedpiece to the trolley-Wire, such short conductor edjustabiy connectedwith said curved piece and connected to the feed- Wire, and thecontactor permanently con- 15 nected to the trolley-Wire.

JOHN R. FLETCHER.

\Vitnesses: v

FRANCIS W. PARKER, CELESTE P. CHAPMAN.

